Connecter for two-part automobile doors



March 16 1926.

M. R. HULL CONNECTER FOR TWO-PART AUTOMOBILE DOORS 1925 'I 2 Sheets-Shes?.

Filed Feb.

Www/MUM ,g w, www WM M. R. HULL CONNECTER FOR TWO-PART AUTOMOBILE DOORS Mann 16,1926; 1,577,256.

Filed Feb. f5, 1925 ZfSheets-Sheet 2 I fihelyRHul I Patented Mar. 16, 19.26."

t MATTHEW P. HULL;er;eoNNnnsvtnjnE,'^rNn1nNn,lnssIGNoRfmo REX MANUFACTUR- j ArNe .coMrANmioN coNNnNsxrILLn, 'INDrNNA 1 A jeonPoRaTmNmF "'INDIANA.

.ilo-atl wi/.omz'mayconcern.' Y

ffBe it Aknown that l, lilium-IEW R. EHULL,

:a eit'izenfof the United States, :residingat fConnersVille, in fthe .eounty lof AFayette Aand *G5 VeStat-e .of Indiana, have :iin-'vented eertain inew' toward1 the vehicle "body ,to insurexfa.-.ti glitl *I5 lit of said section. At the saine tiineitfisxKdesirallexto -ibias :the )free or closing :side of ^:thefd'oor oppositeftlie hinge-side-toward the "vehicle bod-y `for 'the same 1 reason. In order :to,;doithis tthe;trame of the deinountable "220. '1 -section' iseflexed .-,or strained so as'tothrow itheaupper free .ieornerzofthe door :in-Ward .to-

, Ward the body-:of ztheyehi'ele tofra s'lightex- ;teilt. Y'f 1 Referring foto the f accompanying drawings '25 lwhich :are made a partfhereof and on which :similar reference eliaractersindicate fsirnilar partsff Y :Figure .llfis Aan elevation f .of f the ldemonntablerdoioriseeti'on Viewedromtheinner side,

"H'loflpartsshown inligureal,` Figure 7, a similar fragment ofiparts lower .-f'leitflifand e'ornerrofFig Spanielevation-D afniodilied fforrn 145 Ofdenlonntabledoor; section taken ffroni 'the -innerfsiole, e Y

liligure .9, an end-:elevation A:viewedf ffrom '"thei'leftinFigure:8,

Ffgure 2 l0, J a `:section non rlinev iid-,51.0, of

i'Inlithe drawings reference eliaraeterzl() Figure 2,zan-end elevation pviewedifroin the indicates the sheet metal "covering =atf` :the foutsideiof thedoor .to-Which are E-attached :wooden :sti-les ,115 :12; .'18, and'v :14; The ystiles l2 and' lr-.fare Ihere shown asfbeingrzreeniorced .ley means o-strips eof `sheet metal ,'15 i60 randilfwhieh @nay fbe .res'lieet :steel bentfisub- .fstantia'lly `:into .TL-:shape to cover zthezrinner vside; of the #Stiles landi to extend fpartly :over the outereedges and -fwhieh Vmay :be fastened V.to the stiles in any convenient manner-ease@ vbyriwets extending thronghfsaid strips @and ithrongh the -foutersheetsmetal Icovering. TA @plate l? @ispseeured vto :the fdoorV satythe slower vriglitehand eorn-er, i. e. therfbottonrofithefde- .mountable *door section adjacent the f hinge ff aside, :said i plate vhaving a@ downward projec- -tion With afslot zit-1,8 to receive al screw; :119. Qn -`,the innerside jthe plate i is corr-u,gatedr :at iQO-.and-fas will fbefgseen -lfronryEigureit j Ais bent to .provide a considerable spacebe-" tween the plateand an r`outer plate*` 21 .fhaving an f aperture at -its -lowerend `'to receive Nafserew :22.-: VAn" .internally threadedsleeve ..23 engages'lthe -threaded 4:portions of` :both the z:serews 19; and A22 said sleeve having anl' @enlargedfhea'd .'24 to @bear against the louter iace -Iof the; permanent door fsection. a Said isection-:is:usuallyithieker than :the stile 14 4:and `for :this ,reason :the iplate, L7 is Vleent inward vin the manner illustrated.

.v l/Ylien itlnev g-demountable doorv is,. placed in -positio1i-o1i tlie permanent g door 'seetion 4.the

Qsleevef .-is first passed finto afliole bored .throughfsnch;1 section and :this-sleeve preferably .thas :longitudinal eorrugations f or fotlier *i irregularities to Vprevent thesleevegroin Vturning 'intlie hole in ,fthe Vpermanent:door

.s-ection. Alseeondary plate Qiffis provided with eorri'igzations matching- -tliose ofl ithe Aiplate 17 -iandevithyholes to freceiveserews "595 lfor atta'eliing litfto the y:permanent door seeetion. 1Tl1e1screw l92iscapable of adjustment 'upffand fdoWn in the slot -18V and. the i plate 17 :can befinove'df-np fand down :relatively to the .seeonda'ry plate;24f- Whiehf1nay fbe` xed pert100 :inanently fto .the :lower Vfperina-nent door fseetion. This provides means Lfo1.adjustnie1it ofi. fthe vertical fplane@ off -the .e demountable idool@ section ,at thef hinge side and helps `to .make i it i. lit closely ion :the ipermanente-section l and falso against the vehicle body. i

f InL-roitder to bi-as the upper edge and :the #tree fsidep-oiy the .udoor slightly `Atoward-)the lbod-yyto insure gtiglit closingmand pre-Vent Srattlingofthe-'door llprovideI at the bottonif1 10 `section and the screw ttl.

`tired in relation thereto. The strip is bent at` its lower end, as illustrated 1n Figure if' so as to provide alined apertures 28 and 29 to receive the end ot the rod 26. This rod is `squarepor at least non-circular in section at each end and the apertures are shaped correspondingly so as to hold the rod firmly against turning, the body oit the rod being usually, but not nelcessarilye similar in cross- `section to the ends;

Atthe other end ot the rod I have provided a .socket member Si) with, a socket 'shapedto receive `the/end oi the rod and a flat `holdiirzj portion 3l havingl an opening 3Q which may be threaded, it desired, to receive screw Bil. The nori'ual conformation of the rod is such that the tlat portion ill o'f the socket member-will stand in the position illustrated in Figures 5 and t The end ot the screwpasses through a plate into the stile lei. the plate being held in place by bolts passing through said stile. IV hen now the screw 33 is lfcnced down to the position shown .in Figure 715 the normally twisted rod will be roversely twisted preferably until the opposite fiat sides lie in parallel llat planes and will therefore strain the 'l'.aine ci the denniuntablo door so as to throw the upper :tree corner inward in the ianner illustrated .in Figure 2.

The position o3t` the demountable upper door, as above described is a permanent one and this section may now be .mounted on the permanent door section or be removed there- `from without changing its contiguration.

An additional `leature ot the invention resides in an anchor plate 3G having a slot Si' through which passes a screw '38 for securing the anchor plate tothe stile ist. This provides Lt'or vertical adjustment of the plate on the stile after which it is 'fastened in place by screws 39. it its lower edge the plate has a pair ot bearings ttl to receive a screw eil which is freely rotatable in said bearings. A bearing pin 42 has an internally threaded opening at its upper cnd to receive the threaded portion of the screw, whereby rotation ot the screw serves to move the bear ingpin lengthwise ot the dei'nountable door The vertical adjustment ot the plate 3G and the horizontal adji'istment ol' the bearing pin render it an easy matter to vary the position of the bearing pin in accordance with the requirements of individual doors so that the demountabie gasa section can easily7 be locked on permanent door sections (littering slightly in torni and in the position of their holes or sockets to receive the bearing pin. y

In the modified torni shown in Figures 8 to 13, l-S indicates the sheet metal covering` at the outside ot the door to which are attached wooden stiles it, a5, t6 and t. The stiles 45 and 47 are here shown as reen'torced by strips of' sheet metal i8 and 4S) L-shaped in section so as to extend flush with the inner line of the front metal covering 4:3 and down to some extent oier the outer side of: the respective stiles l5 and lll, which are or may be securely fastened to each other at the corners ot the panel in any convenient or desirable manner. A plate ot known character extends over the joint between the stiles et@ and et? and has an eye at 5l through which and through an eye in a similar outer plate a bolt is passed Alor attaching the dernounta-ble door section to the lower permanent section which is or may be the ordinary permanent door of the automobile or other vehicle. A

A rectangular torsion bar 52, which may be ot anyY desirable non-circular shape in cross-section, is attached `to the under side ot the stile i6 said bar being held in place at one end by a socket member 53 flattened at one end as indicated at 54: in Figure 13. The l'lattcned portion is perforated to receive a screw by which th i socket member attached to a casting or stamping 5G se cured to the 'lhe member 56 is here shown as having aa inclined tace at its lett-hand end corresponding to the incline on the socket member 53 `but this is not essential; `The torsion rod at its other end extends through a pair ot alined openings in an anchor bracket having an elongated upright arm 58 .fixed to the stile in any suitable manner. The bracket has a horizontal portion 59 with an angular connecting portion (it) between the parts 58 and 5%) and an angular extension (Sl at the rigljv'ht-h and end of the part 59, the two angular parts having openings corresponding in shape to the cross section oi the rod whereby the rod is securely held by said anchor bracket at one end.

It will be noted that the lettlhand end of the torsion rod has its sides respectively horizont-al and vertical whereas the righthand end ,is twisted as illustrated in Fig` ures l() and 'll in a manner tol throw the diagonally opposite corner at the connection of stiles all and inward toward the car thereby biasing the upper end oit the deinountable door and the tree or closing side adjacent the stile Ll5 toward the body of the vehicle as is also indicated in Figure 2. In the disclosure in the 4drawing* the rod is twisted by means ot a flat part 5t on the socket member 53 resting against an inclined stile .1l-t3 by means ot bolts 5T lfiO ciA

Y plate provides'bearings'ifor afscrfew 63 hav? Y ing threads engaging the threads iii an open- Javanese berf :and the upper ffacefof ithe torsion 'rod lies againstran iniclinedfflat face on theistirle 446 which :face is tinereasingly inclinedaitoward 'fthe' -zizight-fhand tendent-the fst'ile. I It will .be evident 'that this twisted condition of fthe .rod -Jniay `be1-fattainediin otherzfways vas, 'for example .the :rod :might have anfin- `clined @surface adjacent to the `stile-or -the lrod may be flattened and Itwisted -at its fend :somewhat in the "shape'offthe 'part e'54:' .of

the` socket 4member. Any 'such' :methods `of :obtaining-the idesired result are consi-dered within the purview. of. ithe inveiition.

4.An anchor plate `isshown 4at V66,1 ithis fan- .chor` :plate ibeing; @preferably adjustable v:up

vandfdown on vv'the -stilefiiby means of 'a :slot at62 and a screwfin-said slot. filzlheanchofr ing at the upper end ofthe bearing pin 64 whereby the bearing pin may beV moved horizontally. By means of the vertical` adjustmentof the plate 61 vand the horizontal adjustment vof the bearing pin the pin may be brought into position to engage a vertical hole in the permanent door section.

Various changes in my device other than thosel labove indicated will be obvious to those'skilled in the art and therefore IY do not limit myself to what is shown in the n drawings and described in the specificationbut only as indicated in the appended claims. f Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A connecter yfor two-part vehicle doors having a lower permanent section and an upper demountable section comprising a torsion `rod at the underside of the upper door section, and means for connecting the ends of the rod in twisted relation respectively to said upper door section adjacent the opposite sides thereof wherebythe upper end of the demountable door section will be biased toward the vehicle body, sub-k stantially as set forth.

2. A connecter for two-part vehicle doors having a-lower permanent section and an upper deinountable section v comprising a torsion rod at the underside'of the upper door section, and means for connecting the ends of the rod in twisted relation respectively to said upper door section adjacent the lopposite sides thereof whereby the free side of the upper door section will be biased toward the vehicle body, substantially as set forth.

3.*A connecter for two-part vehicle doors having a lower permanent section j. and an upper demountable section comprising a rev.silient rod non-circular in cross section, and' .'means adjacent to 'opposite sides fof ithe #ide-K Fmoimtable upper :sectionl :along 'the lower tend: ofthe' vsaine foriconnecting 'the fends 'of the Vfrod to-said upper section in rel-atively twisted relation i'to leach other,substantially vasaset'fforth.

[14. A connecter Afor=t=wopa=rt vehiclerdeors zhauingwa flower." permanent :section and :an upper.idemountablefsection comprising afre- :silifent .rodfnon-:circularin cross section, and td'ewices` at :spaced points along the -lower'end of the upperdoorfsection for connecting 'the iends .zofY 'the' 'iod ito- -said y upper fsectionr 5in frelatively v.twisted relation :to cach other none kof fsaid; devices Yincluding `an arm extending along the' free side s of the 'door andfi'iixed :thereto :said *arm :having :non-rotatable yen- 4fgageinentfwith lsaid Tod, ysubstantially as .setfforth Y 5,, connecterA for two-ipart rvehicleidoors .-having-f .a flower. permanentv section zand 1an upper demountable section comprising a re-v silient rod non-circular in cross section, and I i means at spaced points along the lower end of the upper door section for connecting the i' endsy of the rod to said upper section in relatively twisted relation to each other said meansV being slidably connected to said rod, substantially' as set forth. v

6. A connecter for two-part vehicle doors having a. lower permanent section and an upper demountable section `comprising an anchor plate connected to the demountable i section at its lower end said anchorplatey being adjustable in one direction, fand a bearingpin on said anchorV plate said bearing pin being adjustable at right angles to the Yadjustment of the anchor plate, substantially as set forth. 7. A connectery for two-part vehicle doors `having a lower permanent section and an upper demountable section comprising an anchor plate having a pair of spaced sockets, a screw journaled in said sockets, and a laterally adjustable bearing pin having threads engaging those of the screw, substantially as set forth. i

8. A connecter for twopart vehicle doors having a lower permanent section yand an upper demountable section comprising a torsion rod at the underside of the upper door section said torsion rod havingl a permanent twist, and means for connecting the ends of ico iGo

the rod. inreversely twisted relation rehaving a klower'permanent section and an upper demountable section comprising a normally-twisted torsion rod at the underside of the upper `,door section, and means for connecting the ends of the rod in reversely twisted relation respectively to said upper door section adjacent the opposite sides thereof wherebyY the free side of the upper door section will be biased toward the vehiele body, substantially as set forth.

l0. A connecter for two-part vehicle doors having a lover perlnanent section and an upper demountahle section comprising sa normally twisted rod noncireular in cross section, and means adjacent to opposite sides oi the demountable upper section along the `lower end of the same for connecting the ends of the rod to said upper section said means being constructed and arranged to `twist the rod back toward its original form7 substantially as set forth. t

11. A connecter for two-part vehicle doors having); a lower permanent section and an upper deiuountable section comprising a norinallytwisted resilient vrod non-circular in cross section, and devices at spaced points along the lower end of the upper door section for connecting the ends ot' the rod to said upper section including an arm extend ing along the free side of the door and fixed thereto said arm being non-rotatably engaged by said rod, substantially as set forth.

1Q. A connecter for two-part vehicle doors havingr a lower permanent section and an upper demountable section `comprising a normally twisted resilient rod non-circular in crossseetion, and means at spaced points along` the lower end of the upper door section for connecting, the ends of the rod t0 said upper section in strained relation said means being slidably connected to said rod, substantially as set forth.

ln witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Connersville, Indiana, this 31st day of December, A. D. nineteen hundred and twenty-four.

MATTI-inw n. HULL. pi. Si; 

